Heather McNairn

Last updated
Heather McNairn
Alma materUniversité Laval
Scientific career
FieldsRemote Sensing for Agriculture
Thesis Radar response to crop residue cover and tillage application on postharvest agricultural surfaces
Doctoral advisor Claude Duguay

Heather McNairn, is a federal research scientist at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. [1] She specializes in remote sensing technology, and her research focuses on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites (SARs) to monitor the condition of crops and soils. [2] [3]

Contents

Biography

McNairn received a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, in 1987, a Masters in Soil Science from the University of Guelph, in 1991, and a Ph.D. in Geography from Université Laval in 1999. [3]

Career

McNairn is also an adjunct professor at Carleton University and the University of Manitoba. [2] [3] She has more than 25 years of experience researching methods to monitor crops and soil using multi-spectral, hyperspectral and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors. [3] Throughout her career, she has led numerous national and international research teams and has written over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers. [3]

McNairn has developed new methods to derive land and soil information, such as land cover, crop residue, tillage, soil moisture, and crop bio-physical characteristics, from Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites. [2] She also specializes in developing pre-processing image analysis approaches using multispectral and hyperspectral sensors. [2] Dr. McNairn led a 3-year research project which developed the methodology to integrate radar and optical satellite data to classify crop types. This method is now used operationally by AAFC to produce a national map of crops, each year.

Her current projects include developing innovative approaches to estimate soil moisture, Leaf Area Index and biomass from SAR sensors. These methods provide temporal and spatial information on soils and crops for use in applications such as flood and drought forecasting, and on farm decision making. [2]

Her research team also worked with industry and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop a new user-friendly application called the Soil Moisture Toolkit. This Toolkit ingests data from satellites such as the Canadian RADARSAT-2 satellite and generates maps of surface soil moisture. [4] The Toolkit is freely available and is used by remote sensing practitioners around the world.

McNairn collaborates with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as many Canadian and international research institutions. [1] [2] Dr. McNairn led a Canada-U.S. research effort in 2012 which gathered soil moisture and crop biomass data to assist NASA in calibrating and validating their Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite – a system that provides global maps of soil moisture. This 2012 experiment involved 75 researchers from Canadian and U.S. universities, Environment Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA. The success of the 2012 campaign led to a request by NASA’s SMAP team to repeat this experiment in 2016. This 2016 data is helping NASA refine soil moisture maps over global sites of annually cropped land.

McNairn is currently collaborating with researchers in The Netherlands, Italy, India and Chile to develop SAR methods to support information requirements for the agriculture sector. In 2016 she was awarded an OECD fellowship and worked for three months in Chile to assist the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuraris (INIA) to develop remote sensing tools for use in variable rate irrigation. [5]

McNairn is using data from the RADARSAT Constellation Mission launched in June 2019 to refine her methods to determine crop type, crop health and soil moisture from remote sensing. [6]

McNairn is the co-chair of the Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance (IDEA) Program, an international leadership initiative. Their mission is to Inspire, Develop, Empower, and Advance (IDEA) members of the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) and affiliates of accredited societies who are interested in the fields of interest of the GRSS. [7] The committee plans and organizes activities to advance engineers and scientists around the world and to inspire future generations by working with students at all academic levels. [7]

Honours and awards

Interests

McNairn has a second degree black belt in Karate, and for many years competed in point sparring. In 2009 she won a bronze medal in sparring at the World Karate and Kickboxing Council World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. She has since retired, and is now a certified fitness instructor teaching fitness classes at AAFC, and for the City of Ottawa. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radarsat-1</span>

RADARSAT-1 was Canada's first commercial Earth observation satellite. It utilized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain images of the Earth's surface to manage natural resources and monitor global climate change. As of March 2013, the satellite was declared non-operational and is no longer collecting data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remote sensing</span> Acquisition of information at a significant distance from the subject

Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth and other planets. Remote sensing is used in numerous fields, including geophysics, geography, land surveying and most Earth science disciplines. It also has military, intelligence, commercial, economic, planning, and humanitarian applications, among others.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for the federal regulation of agriculture, including policies governing the production, processing, and marketing of all farm, food, and agri-based products. Agriculture in Canada is a shared jurisdiction and the department works with the provinces and territories in the development and delivery of policies and programs.

RADARSAT-2 is a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Earth observation satellite. It launched on 14 December 2007 aboard a Starsem Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is owned by MDA

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space-based radar</span> Use of radar systems mounted on satellites

Space-based radar or spaceborne radar is a radar operating in outer space; orbiting radar is a radar in orbit and Earth orbiting radar is a radar in geocentric orbit. A number of Earth-observing satellites, such as RADARSAT, have employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain terrain and land-cover information about the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RADARSAT</span>

RADARSAT is a Canadian remote sensing Earth observation satellite program overseen by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The program has consisted of:

The RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) is a three-spacecraft fleet of Earth observation satellites operated by the Canadian Space Agency. The RCM's goal is to provide data for climate research and commercial applications including oil exploration, fishing, shipping, etc. With satellites smaller than RADARSAT-2, the RCM will provide new applications—made possible through the constellation approach—as well as continuing to provide C-band radar data to RADARSAT-2 users. One of its most significant improvements is in its operational use of synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data. The primary goal of RCM is to provide continuous C-band SAR data to RADARSAT-2 users, as SAR imagery at a high temporal resolution is required by several users in the Canadian government. Other improvements include more frequent area coverage of Canada and reduced risk of a service interruption. The RCM will provide the world's most advanced, comprehensive method of maintaining Arctic sovereignty, conducting coastal surveillance, and ensuring maritime security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar</span> Geodesy and remote sensing technique

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar, abbreviated InSAR, is a radar technique used in geodesy and remote sensing. This geodetic method uses two or more synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to generate maps of surface deformation or digital elevation, using differences in the phase of the waves returning to the satellite or aircraft. The technique can potentially measure millimetre-scale changes in deformation over spans of days to years. It has applications for geophysical monitoring of natural hazards, for example earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides, and in structural engineering, in particular monitoring of subsidence and structural stability.

Remote sensing techniques in archaeology are an increasingly important component of the technical and methodological tool set available in archaeological research. The use of remote sensing techniques allows archaeologists to uncover unique data that is unobtainable using traditional archaeological excavation techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soil Moisture Active Passive</span> NASA earth monitoring satellite that measures global soil moisture

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) is a NASA environmental monitoring satellite that measures soil moisture across the planet. It is designed to collect a global 'snapshot' of soil moisture every 2 to 3 days. With this frequency, changes from specific storms can be measured while also assessing impacts across seasons of the year. SMAP was launched on 31 January 2015. It was one of the first Earth observation satellites developed by NASA in response to the National Research Council's Decadal Survey.

The Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) is a data processing facility and satellite-tracking ground station within the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The facility’s mission is to make remote-sensing data accessible Its work is central to polar processes research including wetlands, glaciers, sea ice, climate change, permafrost, flooding and land cover such as changes in the Amazon rainforest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NISAR (satellite)</span> Joint NASA-ISRO synthetic radar aperture spacecraft

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an Earth observation satellite. The satellite will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies. It will be used for remote sensing, to observe and understand natural processes on Earth. For example, its left-facing instruments will study the Antarctic cryosphere. With a total cost estimated at US$1.5 billion, NISAR is likely to be the world's most expensive Earth-imaging satellite.

The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) (formerly Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS)) is a branch of Natural Resources Canada's Earth Science Sector. It was created in 1970 with Lawrence Morley as the first Director General. The department also works closely with the private sector, especially with the development of GIS software.

JoBea Way Holt is an American planetary scientist who has worked for NASA. Holt studied the carbon cycle in Earth's atmosphere. She is also a member of the Climate Project, and is the author of several books and research papers.

Karen Bailey is a retired research scientist who specialized in plant pathology and biopesticide development at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Her research focused on developing alternatives to synthetic pesticides and improving plant health through integrated pest management strategies. She is internationally recognized for her expertise on soil-borne pathogens and biological control, and she has more than 250 publications, 23 patents, and 7 inventions disclosures in progress.

Elizabeth Pattey is a principal research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the leader of the micrometeorology laboratory at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre. Her research supports nationwide improvement in the environmental performance of agriculture, in support of the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change and Canada’s Clean Air Act. She is the co-author for over 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and her areas of expertise include trace gas flux measurement techniques, process-based models, and remote-sensing applications.

Dr. Y. S. Rao is a professor at the Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. He is working in the field of microwave remote sensing and land based applications for more than 34 years. His early research was focused on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry for landslides and land deformation monitoring, Digital Elevation Model generation, snow and glacier monitoring. He is also actively involved in developing several techniques for soil moisture estimation using passive and active microwave remote sensing data for more than 25 years. His current research involves SAR Polarimetry for crop characterization, classification, biophysical parameter retrieval using linear and compact-pol SAR data. Apart from applications, he has also contributed in the field of Polarimetric SAR system calibration and software tool development.

Mahta Moghaddam is an Iranian-American electrical and computer engineer and William M. Hogue Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. Moghaddam is also the president of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society and is known for developing sensor systems and algorithms for high-resolution characterization of the environment to quantify the effects of climate change. She also has developed innovative tools using microwave technology to visualize biological structures and target them in real-time with high-power focused microwave ablation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avik Bhattacharya</span> Microwave remote sensing specialist

Avik Bhattacharya is a professor at the Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. He has been working in the field of radar polarimetry theory and applications for more than a decade. His main focuses on the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for land use classification, change detection and qualitative and quantitative biophysical and geophysical information estimation.

The history of synthetic-aperture radar begins in 1951, with the invention of the technology by mathematician Carl A. Wiley, and its development in the following decade. Initially developed for military use, the technology has since been applied in the field of planetary science.

References

  1. 1 2 "Soil Moisture Mission Rockets into Next Phase - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)". Agr.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "McNairn, Heather, Ph.D. - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)". Agr.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Monitoring Canadian Agriculture using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences".
  4. ↑ "Soil Moisture Maps at Your Fingertips: Government and Industry Collaborate on New Satellite-Based Application - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)". Agr.gc.ca. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  5. 1 2 "OECD Fellowship - McNairn" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "RADARSAT Constellation Mission: Agricultural Science from Space". YouTube .
  7. 1 2 "The Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance (IDEA) Program". GRSS-IEEE. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  8. 1 2 OttawaCommunityNews.com. "Residents honoured with jubilee medals".
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